It’s just really gonna take money. Money is what’s
missing in the inner city. You gotta look at the
billions of dollars lost on after-school programs
and education. All these different programs had
money and government funding prior to the war.
These niggas just got another hundred-something
million dollars for the war. The shit is getting
bananas. In California they’re saying Schwartzenegger is getting ready to cut like 10 percent
on education, 15 percent from health. That’s why
muthafuckas is dying. That’s why old people are
dying. They borrowing against social security;
that’s why ain’t nobody gonna have nothing. So
it’s more important than ever that people start
learning about financial responsibility. That same
social security check that your grandmother got,
it’s a wrap for that. Unless you’re 55, ain’t finna be
nothing for you. People gotta start thinking differently. If they don’t wanna live differently that’s
them, but I feel like I gotta tell niggas what little
I know. It’s not for me to preach to niggas or tell
‘em what to do. I’m just telling niggas, “Look, this
is the way it’s finna be. If you don’t wanna change
you, that’s you but you gotta think about your lil
man and lil girl.”
Is it frustrating for you, being as intelligent as you
are, that the media doesn’t pay attention to the
things you’re talking about and nobody cares that
you’re mentoring kids at your church?
Yeah, it is. It’s fucked up.
Do you feel like if you make a record about it
nobody’s gonna play it?
They don’t wanna play it ‘cause first of all, they
don’t wanna hear it from me ‘cause they’ve
already made up their mind about who I am and
what I represent. They don’t wanna hear anything
good from me at all. And if they hear something
good from the good people, they don’t wanna
promote that. It’s like a catch 22. They only wanna
talk about certain shit, only around election time.
That’s really the only reason we’re having a lot
of the conversations that we’re having right now.
They’re only talking about the money and different shit because everybody’s programs are getting
hit. It used to be only the inner city programs
getting hit, now it’s everybody’s after school
programs and education. Now you can’t just send
your kids to a good neighborhood to a public
school ‘cause they fucked; they losing money.
Everybody’s trying to send their kids to private
schools. It’s crazy.
Speaking of elections, who are you going for?
I don’t know, man. It’s still kinda early. I don’t
wanna say If I say, “I’m going for this person”
and they don’t even get the nomination, then I’m
looking like an asshole. I’ma sit back and wait to
see what happens. I lean a little bit more towards
Barack because he was the only person that didn’t
wanna just go to war. He was like, “Hold up, let’s
really see what it is.” I can respect that mentality, but when it is time to go to war I don’t need
a nigga hesitating either. Like I said, I think it’s
a little bit too early. I still believe it’s the lesser
of two evils. It’s basically still the powers that be
dictating who they feel is the best candidate. At
the end of the day, it may be a representative of
change as far as visually, but as far as following the status quo, they’re all party members. So
it really don’t matter who wins, their personal
agenda really doesn’t come into play. They gotta
carry along the agenda of their party. Until maybe
an independent has a good chance of winning an
election, we’re never gonna see a true representation of the people if you ask me. But that’s just
me; I’m from P.A., what the fuck do I know?

Was it hard for you to get back in the studio after
Pimp’s passing?
Oh yeah. Absolutely. It was real hard. The first
time I went, I never even got to pick the pen up.
Just looking around the room at different pictures
on the wall brought up a lot of memories and we
just ended up talking about a lot of stuff more
than [recording]. The first time I picked up the pen
it was kinda hard to write the rhyme. I actually
say that in the rhyme, that it was hard to pick up
the pen. The first rhyme I wrote was for a song
on TIP’s album. It’s about Pimp; it’s about dealing
with loss. It wasn’t easy. I’ve probably done three
verses total since Pimp passed away. I used to do
four or five verses a day; it was nothing. It’s just
a different process. I’ve never been more nervous
about what I’m saying in my life because now
more than ever I can’t have my intentions misunderstood. Most niggas know me for coming in
[the studio], writing my rhyme and I’m done and
out in fifteen or twenty minutes. That’s why I’m
on everybody’s album. I’m kinda like a rap doctor
– they call me when they need me to fix a song
real quick. I’m real easy to clear; I do quality work
and get it back in time. It’s not like they send it to
me and I’ma get to it when I can. I’m usually not
doing shit but chilling at the house or whatever.
I ride over to Corey’s house, knock it out, and go
home. I try to be home before the news comes
on. Now it’s just a real different process. Then
you gotta be careful ‘cause you don’t wanna
over-think shit; you don’t wanna under-think shit.
It’s just a very careful line that I’m walking right
now. I don’t wanna seem too selfish or seem too
much about me. I don’t wanna seem too preachy. I
wanna make sure I do my dude [Pimp C] justice.
It’s a lot of different things that goes into sixteen
bars of a rhyme that usually didn’t go into that
shit. It’s like, this song is about bitches or hustling
so we gonna talk about this or that and I’m out.
Now it’s a little bit different. Even if it doesn’t
feel like this in a while, right now it is different.
It’s important that the shit niggas hear from me
is what it is. Niggas know I’m fucked up but they
wanna see me still be able to carry on [the UGK
legacy]. Fans in the street tell me I gotta keep it
going. It’s definitely that obligation to them. And
of course there’s an obligation to my family with
this shit being my career, having to feed my family. It’s a lot of shit that goes into this that I guess
a nigga might have never really paid attention to.
I’m just dealing with it. It’s not gonna be easy for
a while. I understand that, though, and everybody
around me understands. I just grabbed the mic
for the first time when Rick Ross came here last
weekend. We did “Down in The Dirty” and then
they played “High Life” afterwards and that shit
was kinda emotional. I hadn’t heard “High Life” in
about two or three years. That’s a real ass song.
I know when it comes to performing some of this
shit, it’s not gonna be easy. That’s why I want [my
first performance] to be here in Houston with the
fans. If I get emotional, they’re probably gonna
get emotional too. I’m gonna have all his artists
there with me with all this love and positivity in
the building with me. I feel like that’s something I
need to really get me back out there ‘cause I want
to get out there. We’re taking it a day at a time.
It’s still emotional; a nigga get choked up.
I went and watched Cloverfield this weekend. Not
to give too much away but there’s a scene where
somebody has to call somebody and tell them that
somebody is dead. I had to do that. [The character
in the movie] pretty much broke down the exact
way I remember breaking down. That shit kinda
fucked me up. I watch people talk about death in
a movie all the time and I don’t cry. Shit’s a little

different now. This shit is heavy. How often am I
gonna see and hear shit that’s gonna hit me like
that? You gotta be very in touch with your emotions right now. You gotta be very smart and real
about shit. This shit is gonna affect me for a little
while. You gotta understand that and give yourself
time to breathe. Today’s gonna be what it is. You
can’t say today’s gonna be easier but you can’t be
afraid to say things. Initially that was my problem;
I couldn’t say shit. I couldn’t say, “Chad is dead.”
Last month I couldn’t say that without breaking
the fuck down. Certain things get easier. You gotta
be willing to deal with that shit too. It’d be real
easy for me to go lock myself up in the crib, lay
in bed, pop me some Xanax, smoke kill all day.
People would grant me that kind of freedom but
that’s selfish. I’m not really doing myself no good.
I’m not really honoring my homeboy or keeping
the movement going like that. So you suck it up;
you have moments where you feel weak; you give
yourself a moment and you get back to it. Shit,
I got a momma, a wife, kids; there’s still other
people I may potentially lose in my life. For me
to act like this is it, like Chad is dead and I’m not
gonna happen…I’m definitely not going through
as much as his mother is right now. He was an
only child. I’m definitely not going through what
his children and his wife are going through. That
was their only dad, and her only husband. These
people are fucked up emotionally. I’m emotional
but I know these people are bent up. So at the
end of the day I don’t sit around feeling sorry
for myself. I’m happy to know a real nigga and
if I don’t get up and rep for him, I don’t believe
anyone’s gonna rep for him. I kinda got to and if
I don’t, that’s it; the nigga just kinda goes away.
I felt like that [when he went to] prison and it’s
even moreso now that he’s dead.
When Pimp passed a lot of people started making
Tupac comparisons. Do you feel like that’s accurate?
Yeah, I feel like that’s a safe assumption to say
that what Biggie was to the East Coast and what
‘Pac was to the West Coast, Pimp C was to the
South. You gotta keep in mind that Pac and Biggie
were just rappers; Pimp C was a rapper and a
producer, and not just a producer for our group
but he made great records and helped jump off a
lot of other people’s careers. Hell, there’s an argument that he may have been more impactful. He
never had the media notoriety that a lot of these
other artists may have had.
Do you think he’s going to get that media notoriety now that he’s passed?
He’s definitely gonna get his play. It’s definitely gonna be people like yourself and others
acknowledging him, which you always did, but
even moreso now. People are gonna wanna make
sure people understand what he was, not just a
rapper, a producer, and an artist, but a father and
a leader. People wanna show everything that Pimp
was. This UGK movement is still gonna be going
forward. We got another album to put out. All
through the year people are gonna wanna honor
him. We’re gonna have anniversaries and things
coming up. We’re trying to make his birthday a
holiday in Port Arthur. We’re talking about giving
him a street. We gotta hurry up and get that done
before the election is over ‘cause we’re not even
sure the mayor is gonna be there next year in Port
Arthur.
Did you feel like the Feds being out so heavy at
the funeral was disrespectful?
Initially, yeah, but if you really think about who
they are and what they do, you can’t feel disrespected. Federal agents been popping up at peoOZONE MAG // 73